A new reality

Apple's latest gadget will have to prove its utility

Interest in a touchscreen product that users could interact with directly with their fingers rather than using a stylus was first expressed by Steve Jobs in 1999. The device would require a triple-layered capacitive multi-touch touchscreen, a technology thought to be the stuff of science fiction even at the start of this century. A shift from pen computing to touchscreens had dominated discussions on personal tech at that time, even as Apple, Microsoft, and others launched their own tablet computers operated with the help of a stylus. The iPad — Apple’s tablet computer which finally made the jump to touch-based